creating a sense of urgency for seller without a broker
November 28, 2023
by a searcher from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management in Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
I'm working with a seller who is without a broker. This owner says he is ready to sell. Has had offers in the past. Says he likes our team better then others that came before BUT he is 'so' busy running the day to day of his business that he doesn't have time to discuss an LOI. This has been going on for about a month. How do I create a sense of urgency? Or should I not? How do I tell him I'm moving on but leave the door open. Right now my concern is not that he is too busy (we have solutions for taking on the business). My focus is getting him (and wife) to calm down and take the leap and build trust. Suggestions from others who have experienced this same issue?
in Montreal, QC, Canada
I'm in a similar situation where there was 5 weeks between my first LOI and the second version of the LOI. The seller was so busy that he didn't have time to negotiate the terms of the deal. My approach was to be transparent and kind. I explained that if we couldn't move the deal forward I'd have to start working on other CIMs I'd received, but that I was very much interested in his business and that it was still my first choice. I just needed to plan in case things didn't work out between us.
I value my relationship with the seller so I didn't want to be a jerk about it, but I wanted to let him know I had other opportunities and this needed to move forward.
The pace changed after that and we're moving forward now.
An old boss of mine would say "commit commit commit". So I'd sit with him, make a plan with dates you pick together for important milestones and have him commit to the schedule. Keep bringing the plan back in follow-up emails to make sure you're on track.
As a last resort, use the hail Mary or split up email technique. "I understand you're too busy for this right now, unfortunately I have limited time and have to move to other opportunities. If this ever becomes a priority for you again, please let me know as I am still very much interested in working with you. You've built a great business and I'd love to be the one who gets to build on your legacy."
in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Hey _______ (first name),
We haven’t heard back from you?
(I know you’re super busy.)
Have you decided not to sell your business and spend more time fishing? (Replace "Spend more time fishing" with the real reason of the sale)
No worries if that’s the case! :-)
_________________________________
If they respond showing interest, take the conversation further and always switch their focus on their why. (The real reason they are selling the business)
And always stay detached from the deal.
--------------------------------------------------
And if they don't respond to the first text, send them this:
Should we close the file on you?
---------------------------------------
If they don't respond to this, they most likely don't want to sell or don't want to sell to you. Move on.